Shloka 41
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
धान्यं श्रमेणार्जितवित्तसंचितं विप्रे सुशीले च प्रयच्छते यः । वसुन्धरा तस्य भवेत् सुतुष्टा धारां वसूनां प्रतिमुज्चतीव,जो अपने परिश्रमसे उपार्जित और संचित किया हुआ धन-धान्य सुशील ब्राह्मणको दान करता है, उसके ऊपर वसुधादेवी अत्यन्त संतुष्ट होती और उसके लिये धनकी धारा- सी बहाती हैं
dhānyaṃ śrameṇārjitavittasañcitaṃ vipre suśīle ca prayacchate yaḥ | vasundharā tasya bhavet sutuṣṭā dhārāṃ vasūnāṃ pratimuñcatīva ||
Wika ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “Sinumang nagbibigay sa isang marangal at maayos na brāhmaṇa ng butil at yaman na kanyang pinaghirapan at maingat na naipon—sa kanya’y labis na nalulugod ang Diyosa ng Lupa, si Vasudhā, na wari’y pinakakawalan para sa kanya ang umaagos na batis ng kayamanan.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is most fruitful when it is given from honestly earned, personally labored-for wealth, and directed to a worthy recipient (a virtuous brāhmaṇa). Such giving aligns with dharma and is portrayed as winning the favor of the Earth herself, resulting in prosperity.
Mārkaṇḍeya delivers a moral instruction: he praises the act of donating one’s hard-earned, stored grain and wealth to a well-conducted brāhmaṇa, describing it with a vivid image—Earth (Vasundharā) becomes pleased and seems to pour out a stream of riches in return.